Combating Cyber Violence against Women and Girls

This report examines cyber violence against women and girls (CVAWG) as an emerging form of gender-based violence across the EU-27. It reviews legal and statistical definitions, policy frameworks and data collection practices at EU, international and national levels, while proposing common definitions to support more effective policymaking. The findings are particularly relevant for Women, Peace and Security (WPS), cybersecurity and police reform practitioners, as they demonstrate the gendered impact of digital threats and identify areas where law enforcement, victim support services and data collection can be strengthened.

The report argues that cyber violence should be understood as part of the broader continuum of violence against women and girls, rather than as a separate or purely online phenomenon. It shows that women and girls are disproportionately targeted by online abuse and often face significant psychological, social, economic and, in some cases, physical consequences. The study focuses on five common forms of cyber violence: cyber stalking, cyber harassment, cyber bullying, online gender-based hate speech, and non-consensual intimate image abuse. It also discusses emerging forms of abuse, including doxing, trolling, Internet-of-Things-facilitated violence, stalkerware and deepfake content.

A key finding is the lack of harmonised legal and statistical definitions across EU Member States, resulting in fragmented policies, inconsistent data collection and significant under-reporting. The report notes that available definitions often do not account for the complexity of cyber violence against women and girls, fail to capture its gendered and intersectional dimensions, and overlook both its specific harms and the interconnected nature of online and offline abuse. To address these challenges, EIGE proposes a harmonised definition of cyber violence against women and girls and corresponding definitions for its most common forms. The report recommends improving data collection, integrating a gender perspective into crime statistics, and developing coherent legal and policy frameworks at both EU and national levels.

For civilian CSDP missions supporting police and rule of law actors, these findings underline the importance of effective reporting mechanisms, victim-centred approaches, specialised training for law enforcement personnel, stronger cooperation between police, justice and support services, and the collection of reliable gender-disaggregated data. The findings also contribute to broader discussions on the gendered dimensions of cybersecurity and inform the implementation of the WPS agenda in digital environments.

Reference: European Institute for Gender Equality (EIGE). (2022). Combating Cyber Violence against Women and Girls. Publications Office of the European Union.